The Impact of Rising Health Costs on Business

Abstract

Why would a hospital administrator be so anxious to talk to a management group regarding the impact of rising health care costs on business? One might think that he would be anxious to avoid this issue in that the position of hospitals and others in the health care industry is difficult to defend. In this day and age, everyone is much concerned about the continued rise in health care costs, and very anxious for someone — anyone — to do something about it. Business is increasingly concerned about the rising costs of health care, because it results in increased costs in the employee benefit package, particularly as employees increase their demands for more health care benefits. Although the employee is extremely concerned about the rising costs of health care, management is more concerned, since they must face the increasing burden of paying for the rising cost of health care. The impact of rising health care costs on business is real, and because it is of great concern to you, as managers in business, I would like to share with you some of the reasons for the rise in health care costs.